Politics and International Relations
Politics and international relations is a discipline that asks how power works and how the world is ordered. It examines how states are governed from within and how they behave towards one another, drawing on political theory, comparative political analysis and the study of international institutions, security, conflict and cooperation. The combination of domestic and international perspectives is particularly important now, as the forces of globalisation, nationalism and geopolitical competition make the boundary between internal politics and the international system increasingly hard to draw.
At Swansea University, this joint honours degree is designed for students who want to understand both sides of that relationship. You will develop expertise in political theory, the study of states, elections and parliaments, and international relations theory, security studies and conflict, while also exploring topics where the domestic and international intersect, including environmental politics, global political economy and the governance of global challenges. The degree builds your analytical and research skills alongside a substantive body of knowledge, preparing you to evaluate competing explanations of political phenomena and to engage critically with the evidence and arguments that political scientists use.
Graduates of politics and international relations programmes are valued across a wide range of careers precisely because the discipline develops transferable analytical, research and communication skills alongside substantive knowledge of how the world works. The civil service, local government, think-tanks, international organisations, NGOs, journalism, research, law and the private sector all recruit politics graduates. Many graduates pursue careers in international development, human rights, security policy or regional affairs, where the combination of political theory and international knowledge is directly applicable.
Postgraduate study in international relations, politics, public policy or law is a well-established route for those who wish to specialise further.